Washington State's Chamber

Fast Facts

Monday, March 31

Activists dominate symposium on $15 minimum wage in Seattle

TOP STORIESActivists dominate symposium on
$15 minimum wage in SeattleSupporters of a $15
minimum wage dominated a Seattle
symposium last week, drowning out consideration of opposing viewpoints. Even
so, many activists were angered when keynote speaker and “living wage” supporter Nick
Hanauer stepped away from
the party line to discuss the importance of delayed implementation and credit
for “total compensation” – including tips and benefits – when calculating
whether an employer pays $15 an hour. Washington is one of only seven states
without a tip credit, notes Jonathan Martin of The Seattle Times, quoting a business
owner whose employees bring in at least $12,000 a year in tips on top of their
wages, bringing them to at least $15.50 an hour. Overall, big differences
remain between business and labor activists, where “hard bargaining has begun”
and a committee has only one more month to finalize recommendations to Mayor Ed
Murray.

Businesses, mayors continue to
press for immigration reformAmerica isn’t
producing workers able – or willing – to work in high-demand jobs that don’t
require advanced skills, according to a new report from the Partnership for a New American Economy. Businesses depend on
immigrants to fill in a 7.3-million worker labor
gap, but the nation’s
immigration system isn’t allowing enough workers in to meet the demand, the
report concludes. As a result, “if Congress does not act to overhaul the
country’s immigration system, the future could be bleak for businesses who
depend on lower-skilled workers,” according to U.S. News
& World Report.

Boeing to begin demolition and
site prep for 777X wing plant in EverettBoeing will begin
demolishing four buildings on May 1 to make room for its massive 777X wing
plant in Everett, the Puget Sound Business Journal reports. The building will include three
120-foot-long ovens to cure the high-tech carbon fiber wings. The 1.2
million-square-foot building should be ready for operations by May 2016,
according to plans the company unveiled last week.

Twenty-three AWB members make
list of World’s Most Ethical Companies

A number of
Washington-born companies, as well as firms with a major presence in our state,
made this year’s World’s Most Ethical Companies list compiled by Ethisphere. Twenty-three AWB members made the list of
the 144 companies that promote ethical business standards, exceed legal
compliance minimums and “shape future industry standards by introducing best
practices today.” Congratulations to these ethical companies and AWB members: Aramark,
Fluor Corporation, Ford Motor Co., General Electric, Google, Granite Construction,
Holland America, International Paper, Intel, Marriott International, Microsoft,
Parsons Engineering, Paychex, PepsiCo, Petco Stores, Safeway, Starbucks, T-Mobile,
Time Warner, UPS, Waste Management, Weyerhaeuser, and XEROX.

List of nation’s most trustworthy
companies includes 11 AWB members

Eleven of the 100
most trusted companies in America – businesses that are honest, consistent and
transparent – are AWB members. The Forbes magazine list of the most
trustworthy companies in
America, released last week, includes these AWB members: Bemis, Buffalo Wild
Wings, CINTAS, Greenbrier, Kelly Services, James Hardie Building Products, Regal
Entertainment Group, Sonoco Products Co., TruBlue, Inc., TW Telecom and Tyson Foods.

OTHER NEWS Senate increases its own per
diem payments by 33 percent

Members of the
Senate will be able to collect $30 more per day for their service in Olympia under a rule approved by a 4-3 vote of the Senate Facilities and
Operations Committee during a hastily called meeting on Tuesday. Senators will now be eligible for $120 in
per diem (daily) reimbursements for food, lodging and other costs, up from $90
per day. This is on top of their regular salaries. Their staff can now collect
$40, up from $30. The move follows a similar raise the House of Representatives
approved for itself in January. Newspaper editorial
boards called the increase unseemly and a bad idea.

Republican Melanie
Stambaugh, a 23-year-old “confidence coach,” is challenging Rep. Dawn Morrell,
D-Puyallup, for a seat in the state House representing the 25th District. The
25th is a swing district, with two seats already held by Republicans. Both
lawmakers have endorsed Stambaugh, The News Tribune reports. Morrell was first elected in 2002,
narrowly lost in 2010, but was reelected in 2012.

Rep. Roger Freeman,
D-Federal Way, will run for a second term in the House rather than jumping into
the race to fill retiring Democrat Tracey Eide’s seat in the Senate. That’s
good news for Republicans, The News Tribune reports, since it means Democrats still have
no candidate to run against Mark Miloscia, the former legislator and Democrat
who will run for the 30th District’s Senate seat as a Republican.

Election watch: Five Democrats
now eyeing run for Doc Hastings’ congressional seat

The field of
Democrats considering a run to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings,
R-Pasco, has grown to five: Estakio Beltran, Joe Buchanan, Gary Downing, Dr.
Mohammad Said and Tony Williams. Of the five, former congressional staffer
Beltran may be the best groomed for entry into politics, the Yakima
Herald-Republic reports.

Patients at Capital
Medical Center in Olympia will have access to more health care options starting
tomorrow thanks to a new collaboration with UW Medicine. Capital patients can get
specialized care for such needs as open-heart surgery, neonatal intensive care
for sick infants, services for high-risk pregnancies and specialized eye
surgery, The Olympian
reports. Capital already has had arrangements with specialty care centers, but
this new agreement streamlines the process and allows seamless electronic
records sharing.

After 10 years as a
lobbyist at AWB, Kris Tefft will now
lead the Washington Self-Insurers’ Association as executive director and
general counsel. The WSIA represents 400 public and private employers that collectively
employ more than one third of the state’s workforce. It also pushes for
policies to improve the state’s overall business climate and limit the costs of
workers’ compensation. Tefft succeeds Dave Kaplan, who is leaving to become the
executive director of the National Council of Self Insurers. A search for
Tefft’s replacement at AWB is underway.

AWB EVENTS & RESOURCESPrepare to
thrive in the new era of ‘Economic Disruption in Healthcare’

There’s still time
to register for “Economic Disruption in Healthcare II,” the second annual
symposium produced by the UW Foster School of Business and Premera Blue Cross.
Last year’s inaugural symposium brought 350 business leaders to Seattle. This
Thursday’s event will highlight disruptive trends in health care, including
winners and losers, along with implications for health and costs. Learn more here.

‘Small Business – Big Opportunity’ offers tips and
solutions

Join
AWB and the Travelers Institute in Seattle on April 10 for a breakfast and
panel discussion on the challenges facing small businesses. “Small Business – Big Opportunity” will discuss
risk management, regulations, cyber security, access to capital and many other
issues affecting small business growth and job creation. Speakers will include
Washington Department of Commerce Director Brian
Bonlender; AWB Government Affairs Vice President Gary Chandler; and Gregor Hodgson, vice president, account
executive, Parker Smith & Feek. Joan
Woodward, president of the Travelers Institute and executive vice president
for public policy at The Travelers Companies, will moderate. The event will be
held in McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center. Attendance and parking will be free.
Please RSVP.

What impacts will
the 2014 legislative session have on your business? Who are the future leaders
who will bring the perspective of employers to Olympia? Find out at AWB’s
Spring Meeting May 13-14 in Spokane. You’ll hear from top legislative leaders
and meet newly announced candidates. Sign up now to also hear
from Attorney General Bob Ferguson and former Gov. Gary Locke. They’ll be
joined by Tom Malone, president and CEO of MicroGREEN Polymers, who will talk
about his fast-growing high-tech cup company. Doug Krapas, environmental
manager for Inland Empire Paper Co., will speak about his company’s innovative water treatment projects. You’ll
also meet the winners of the 2014 Environmental Excellence and Community
Service awards. Reserve your room at The Davenport Hotel before the group rate
expires on April 16th. Learn more and register here.

Apps, Bitcoin, the Cloud and
more: Learn the ABCs of licensing, buying and selling technology

As the importance of technology grows in your business, so
does the need to understand the legal issues behind tech transactions. Garry Fujita and Rick Leitner, partners at Eisenhower Carlson,
are experts in technology and intellectual property transactions. They’ll lead
an April 22 AWB webinar that explains the tax issues, licensing laws and latest
developments related to smartphone apps and digital currencies. Details and
registration are available online.

Health Care Reform: Do you play — or do you pay? Webinar

In the new “pay or play” world of health care regulations,
you need the latest information. You’ll get just that from Howard Bye-Torre of Stoel Rives
during AWB’s May 7 webinar, “Health
Care Reform: Next Steps for Employers.” Bye-Torre, an author and
attorney who specializes in health care law, will detail:

“I think this decision seems to reflect a disconnect between
some senators and the people they say they represent. We haven’t observed a
teacher COLA (cost of living adjustment) increase in years. We haven’t given
COLAs to other public servants. We’re closing down parks and yet, we can pay
ourselves more?”~ Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, after a Senate
panel narrowly approved a 33 percent increase to daily cost reimbursements for
senators and their staff.

If you would like to unsubscribe to Fast Facts,
please contact Members@awb.org.